Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed that he is in regular contact with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during closed-door European Union meetings, saying that communicating with other partners is “the essence of diplomacy”.
Euronews writes about this.
The Washington Post reported that Szijjártó regularly leaked information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which was discussed at EU meetings, talking to him during breaks. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk actually confirmed this information, saying that the EU had long suspected this.
After that, according to Politico, the EU limited the flow of confidential materials to Hungary, and the leaders began to meet in smaller groups. At the time, the Hungarian government rejected these accusations, calling them fake news.
On March 23, the European Commission called on Hungary to clarify the issue, calling the reports “alarming”. Szijjártó echoed those words at a campaign event in the Hungarian city of Keszthely. He said that EU decisions on energy, the automotive industry and security directly affect Hungary’s relations with partners outside the bloc.
"Yes, these issues need to be discussed with our partners outside the European Union. I communicate not only with the Russian Foreign Minister, but also with our American, Turkish, Israeli, Serbian and other partners before and after the meetings of the Council of the European Union," Szijjártó said.
The minister also posted a video on Facebook on the morning of March 24. He denied allegations that he had violated any security protocols at meetings of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs and added that no secrets are discussed at the ministerial level.
"Every minister brings his phone to the room except me. The assumption that there are any security protocols is in the category of stupidity," the minister said.
Szijjártó has visited Moscow 16 times since the start of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. His last trip took place on March 4. Then he met with Putin in the Kremlin.
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